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Do you want to control your lights or appliances using a microcontroller? Build an internet-connected electrical outlet with an Adafruit PyPortal and CircuitPython. The guide uses a controllable four outlet power relay to avoid hazardous high voltages. Connect the project to Adafruit IO, our free Internet-of-Things platform, to control your appliances from anywhere in the world.

 

Adafruit IO Dashboard

Adafruit IO is the easiest way to stream, log, and interact with your data. It's built from the ground up to be easy to use - we do the hard stuff so you can focus on the fun stuff.

You'll build a customizable dashboard to turn your A/C appliance on or off and can optionally add extra blocks to read feedback from the appliance

Parts

You will need the following parts to complete this guide:

Front view of a Adafruit PyPortal - CircuitPython Powered Internet Display with a pyportal logo image on the display.
PyPortal, our easy-to-use IoT device that allows you to create all the things for the “Internet of Things” in minutes. Make custom touch screen interface...
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Controllable Four Outlet Power Relay Module
Say goodbye to hazardous high voltage wiring and create the Internet of Things with safe, reliable power control....
$39.95
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Angled shot of STEMMA JST PH 3-Pin to Male Header Cable - 200mm.
This cable will let you turn a JST PH 3-pin cable port into 3 individual wires with high-quality 0.1" male header plugs on the end. We're carrying these to match up with our...
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5V 2.5A Switching Power Supply with 20AWG MicroUSB Cable
Our all-in-one 5V 2.5 Amp + MicroUSB cable power adapter is the perfect choice for powering single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, or anything else that's...
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Adafruit IO Setup

If you do not already have an Adafruit IO account set up, head over to io.adafruit.com to link your Adafruit.com account to Adafruit IO.

Obtain Adafruit IO Key

You will to need to obtain your Adafruit IO username and secret API key.

Navigate to your profile and click the View AIO Key button to retrieve them. Write them down in a safe place, you'll need them later in this guide.

Create Feed

The first step is to create a new Adafruit IO feed to hold the state of the relay. Navigate to the feeds page on Adafruit IO. Then click Actions -> Create New Feed, and name this feed relay. 

sensors_IO_-_Feeds.png

Create Dashboard

Next, you'll create a dashboard to write to the relay feed. Navigate to the dashboards page on Adafruit IO. Then click Actions -> Create New Dashboard, and name this dashboard the name of the appliance you want to control. I'm controlling an Air Conditioner in my office, so I named the dashboard Air Conditioner. 

sensors_IO_-_Dashboards.png

Add Toggle Block to Dashboard

Next, add a Toggle Block to your dashboard. Click the '+' button next to the dashboard title.

sensors_IO_-_Air_Conditioner.png

From the block selection modal, select the Toggle Button.

On Choose Feed, select the relay feed.

On Block Settings, change the Block Title to Power.

Click Create Block

Your completed dashboard should look like the following:

sensors_IO_-_Air_Conditioner.png

CircuitPython Setup

Install CircuitPython

Some CircuitPython compatible boards come with CircuitPython installed. Others are CircuitPython-ready, but need to have it installed. As well, you may want to update the version of CircuitPython already installed on your board. The steps are the same for installing and updating. 

CircuitPython Library Installation

First make sure you are running the latest version of Adafruit CircuitPython for your board.

Next you'll need to install the necessary libraries to use the hardware--carefully follow the steps to find and install these libraries from Adafruit's CircuitPython library bundle matching your version of CircuitPython. 

CircuitPython hardware shows up on your computer operating system as a flash drive when connected via usb. The flash drive is called CIRCUITPY and contains a number of files. You will need to add additional files to enable the features of this project.

First, create a folder on the drive named lib if it is not already there.

Ensure your board's lib folder has the following files and folders copied over. The version of the files must be the same major version as your version of CircuitPython (i.e. 4.x for 4.x, 5.x for 5.x, etc.)

  • adafruit_bus_device
  • adafruit_minimqtt
  • adafruit_logging.mpy
  • adafruit_esp32spi
  • adafruit_requests.mpy
  • adafruit_io
  • neopixel.mpy

Internet Connect!

Once you have CircuitPython setup and libraries installed we can get your board connected to the Internet. Note that access to enterprise level secured WiFi networks is not currently supported, only WiFi networks that require SSID and password.

To get connected, you will need to start by creating a secrets file.

What's a secrets file?

We expect people to share tons of projects as they build CircuitPython WiFi widgets. What we want to avoid is people accidentally sharing their passwords or secret tokens and API keys. So, we designed all our examples to use a secrets.py file, that is in your CIRCUITPY drive, to hold secret/private/custom data. That way you can share your main project without worrying about accidentally sharing private stuff.

Your secrets.py file should look like this:

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# This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens!
# If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it

secrets = {
    'ssid' : 'home ssid',
    'password' : 'my password',
    'timezone' : "America/New_York", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'github_token' : 'fawfj23rakjnfawiefa',
    'hackaday_token' : 'h4xx0rs3kret',
    }

Inside is a python dictionary named secrets with a line for each entry. Each entry has an entry name (say 'ssid') and then a colon to separate it from the entry key 'home ssid' and finally a comma ,

At a minimum you'll need the ssid and password for your local WiFi setup. As you make projects you may need more tokens and keys, just add them one line at a time. See for example other tokens such as one for accessing github or the hackaday API. Other non-secret data like your timezone can also go here, just cause it's called secrets doesn't mean you can't have general customization data in there!

For the correct time zone string, look at http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones and remember that if your city is not listed, look for a city in the same time zone, for example Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Miami are all on the same time as New York.

Of course, don't share your secrets.py - keep that out of GitHub, Discord or other project-sharing sites.

Connect to WiFi

OK now you have your secrets setup - you can connect to the Internet.

To do this, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_requests as requests
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi

# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"


# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an AirLift Shield:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D7)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# If you have an AirLift Featherwing or ItsyBitsy Airlift:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D13)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D11)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D12)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# NOTE: You may need to change the pins to reflect your wiring
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version)
print("MAC addr:", [hex(i) for i in esp.MAC_address])

for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d" % (str(ap["ssid"], "utf-8"), ap["rssi"]))

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except OSError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))
)
print("Ping google.com: %d ms" % esp.ping("google.com"))

# esp._debug = True
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.text)
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print()
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.json())
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print("Done!")
View on GitHub

And save it to your board, with the name code.py. 

Don't forget you'll also need to create the secrets.py file as seen above, with your WiFi ssid and password.

In a serial console, you should see something like the following. For more information about connecting with a serial console, view the guide Connecting to the Serial Console.

circuitpython_image.png

In order, the example code...

Initializes the ESP32 over SPI using the SPI port and 3 control pins:

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esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

Tells our requests library the type of socket we're using (socket type varies by connectivity type - we'll be using the adafruit_esp32spi_socket for this example). We'll also set the interface to an esp object. This is a little bit of a hack, but it lets us use requests like CPython does.

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requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

Verifies an ESP32 is found, checks the firmware and MAC address

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if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version)
print("MAC addr:", [hex(i) for i in esp.MAC_address])

Performs a scan of all access points it can see and prints out the name and signal strength:

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for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d" % (str(ap['ssid'], 'utf-8'), ap['rssi']))

Connects to the AP we've defined here, then prints out the local IP address, attempts to do a domain name lookup and ping google.com to check network connectivity (note sometimes the ping fails or takes a while, this isn't a big deal)

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print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))

OK now we're getting to the really interesting part. With a SAMD51 or other large-RAM (well, over 32 KB) device, we can do a lot of neat tricks. Like for example we can implement an interface a lot like requests - which makes getting data really really easy

To read in all the text from a web URL call requests.get - you can pass in https URLs for SSL connectivity

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TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.text)
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Or, if the data is in structured JSON, you can get the json pre-parsed into a Python dictionary that can be easily queried or traversed. (Again, only for nRF52840, M4 and other high-RAM boards)

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JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.json())
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Requests

We've written a requests-like library for web interfacing named Adafruit_CircuitPython_Requests. This library allows you to send HTTP/1.1 requests without "crafting" them and provides helpful methods for parsing the response from the server.

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

# adafruit_requests usage with an esp32spi_socket
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
import adafruit_requests as requests

# Add a secrets.py to your filesystem that has a dictionary called secrets with "ssid" and
# "password" keys with your WiFi credentials. DO NOT share that file or commit it into Git or other
# source control.
# pylint: disable=no-name-in-module,wrong-import-order
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# If you have an AirLift Featherwing or ItsyBitsy Airlift:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D13)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D11)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D12)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)

# Initialize a requests object with a socket and esp32spi interface
socket.set_interface(esp)
requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
JSON_GET_URL = "https://httpbin.org/get"
JSON_POST_URL = "https://httpbin.org/post"

print("Fetching text from %s" % TEXT_URL)
response = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print("-" * 40)

print("Text Response: ", response.text)
print("-" * 40)
response.close()

print("Fetching JSON data from %s" % JSON_GET_URL)
response = requests.get(JSON_GET_URL)
print("-" * 40)

print("JSON Response: ", response.json())
print("-" * 40)
response.close()

data = "31F"
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, data=data)
print("-" * 40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'data' key from json_resp dict.
print("Data received from server:", json_resp["data"])
print("-" * 40)
response.close()

json_data = {"Date": "July 25, 2019"}
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, json_data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, json=json_data)
print("-" * 40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'json' key from json_resp dict.
print("JSON Data received from server:", json_resp["json"])
print("-" * 40)
response.close()
View on GitHub

The code first sets up the ESP32SPI interface. Then, it initializes a request object using an ESP32 socket and the esp object.

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import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
import adafruit_requests as requests

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(b'MY_SSID_NAME', b'MY_SSID_PASSWORD')
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ",e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, 'utf-8'), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)

# Initialize a requests object with a socket and esp32spi interface
requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

HTTP GET with Requests

The code makes a HTTP GET request to Adafruit's WiFi testing website - http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html.

To do this, we'll pass the URL into requests.get(). We're also going to save the response from the server into a variable named response.

Having requested data from the server, we'd now like to see what the server responded with. Since we already saved the server's response, we can read it back. Luckily for us, requests automatically decodes the server's response into human-readable text, you can read it back by calling response.text.

Lastly, we'll perform a bit of cleanup by calling response.close(). This closes, deletes, and collect's the response's data. 

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print("Fetching text from %s"%TEXT_URL)
response = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("Text Response: ", response.text)
print('-'*40)
response.close()

While some servers respond with text, some respond with json-formatted data consisting of attribute–value pairs.

CircuitPython_Requests can convert a JSON-formatted response from a server into a CPython dict. object.

We can also fetch and parse json data. We'll send a HTTP get to a url we know returns a json-formatted response (instead of text data). 

Then, the code calls response.json() to convert the response to a CPython dict. 

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print("Fetching JSON data from %s"%JSON_GET_URL)
response = requests.get(JSON_GET_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("JSON Response: ", response.json())
print('-'*40)
response.close()

HTTP POST with Requests

Requests can also POST data to a server by calling the requests.post method, passing it a data value.

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data = '31F'
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, data=data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'data' key from json_resp dict.
print("Data received from server:", json_resp['data'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

You can also post json-formatted data to a server by passing json_data into the requests.post method.

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    json_data = {"Date" : "July 25, 2019"}
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, json_data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, json=json_data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'json' key from json_resp dict.
print("JSON Data received from server:", json_resp['json'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

Advanced Requests Usage

Want to send custom HTTP headers, parse the response as raw bytes, or handle a response's http status code in your CircuitPython code?

We've written an example to show advanced usage of the requests module below.

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
import adafruit_requests as requests

# Add a secrets.py to your filesystem that has a dictionary called secrets with "ssid" and
# "password" keys with your WiFi credentials. DO NOT share that file or commit it into Git or other
# source control.
# pylint: disable=no-name-in-module,wrong-import-order
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)

# Initialize a requests object with a socket and esp32spi interface
socket.set_interface(esp)
requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

JSON_GET_URL = "http://httpbin.org/get"

# Define a custom header as a dict.
headers = {"user-agent": "blinka/1.0.0"}

print("Fetching JSON data from %s..." % JSON_GET_URL)
response = requests.get(JSON_GET_URL, headers=headers)
print("-" * 60)

json_data = response.json()
headers = json_data["headers"]
print("Response's Custom User-Agent Header: {0}".format(headers["User-Agent"]))
print("-" * 60)

# Read Response's HTTP status code
print("Response HTTP Status Code: ", response.status_code)
print("-" * 60)

# Close, delete and collect the response data
response.close()
View on GitHub

WiFi Manager

That simpletest example works but it's a little finicky - you need to constantly check WiFi status and have many loops to manage connections and disconnections. For more advanced uses, we recommend using the WiFiManager object. It will wrap the connection/status/requests loop for you - reconnecting if WiFi drops, resetting the ESP32 if it gets into a bad state, etc.

Here's a more advanced example that shows the WiFi manager and also how to POST data with some extra headers:

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
"""Use below for Most Boards"""
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(
    board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2
)  # Uncomment for Most Boards
"""Uncomment below for ItsyBitsy M4"""
# status_light = dotstar.DotStar(board.APA102_SCK, board.APA102_MOSI, 1, brightness=0.2)
# Uncomment below for an externally defined RGB LED
# import adafruit_rgbled
# from adafruit_esp32spi import PWMOut
# RED_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 26)
# GREEN_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 27)
# BLUE_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 25)
# status_light = adafruit_rgbled.RGBLED(RED_LED, BLUE_LED, GREEN_LED)
wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

counter = 0

while True:
    try:
        print("Posting data...", end="")
        data = counter
        feed = "test"
        payload = {"value": data}
        response = wifi.post(
            "https://io.adafruit.com/api/v2/"
            + secrets["aio_username"]
            + "/feeds/"
            + feed
            + "/data",
            json=payload,
            headers={"X-AIO-KEY": secrets["aio_key"]},
        )
        print(response.json())
        response.close()
        counter = counter + 1
        print("OK")
    except OSError as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        continue
    response = None
    time.sleep(15)
View on GitHub

You'll note here we use a secrets.py file to manage our SSID info. The wifimanager is given the ESP32 object, secrets and a neopixel for status indication.

Note, you'll need to add a some additional information to your secrets file so that the code can query the Adafruit IO API:

  • aio_username
  • aio_key

You can go to your adafruit.io View AIO Key link to get those two values and add them to the secrets file, which will now look something like this:

Download File
Copy Code 
# This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens!
# If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it

secrets = {
    'ssid' : '_your_ssid_',
    'password' : '_your_wifi_password_',
    'timezone' : "America/Los_Angeles", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'aio_username' : '_your_aio_username_',
    'aio_key' : '_your_aio_key_',
    }

Next, set up an Adafruit IO feed named test

We can then have a simple loop for posting data to Adafruit IO without having to deal with connecting or initializing the hardware!

Take a look at your test feed on Adafruit.io and you'll see the value increase each time the CircuitPython board posts data to it!

circuitpython_feedstest.jpg

Code PyPortal with CircuitPython

Add CircuitPython Code

In the embedded code element below, click on the Download: Project Zip link, and save the .zip archive file to your computer.

Then, uncompress the .zip file, it will unpack to a folder named Adafruit_IO_Power_Relay.

Copy the contents of Adafruit_IO_Power_Relay directory to your PyPortal's CIRCUITPY drive.

Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 Brent Rubell for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket

import adafruit_minimqtt.adafruit_minimqtt as MQTT

### WiFi ###

# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
"""Use below for Most Boards"""
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(
    board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2
)  # Uncomment for Most Boards
"""Uncomment below for ItsyBitsy M4"""
# status_light = dotstar.DotStar(board.APA102_SCK, board.APA102_MOSI, 1, brightness=0.2)
# Uncomment below for an externally defined RGB LED
# import adafruit_rgbled
# from adafruit_esp32spi import PWMOut
# RED_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 26)
# GREEN_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 27)
# BLUE_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 25)
# status_light = adafruit_rgbled.RGBLED(RED_LED, BLUE_LED, GREEN_LED)
wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

# Set up a pin for controlling the relay
power_pin = DigitalInOut(board.D3)
power_pin.switch_to_output()

### Feeds ###
# Set up a feed named Relay for subscribing to the relay feed on Adafruit IO
feed_relay = secrets["aio_username"] + "/feeds/relay"

### Code ###

# Define callback methods which are called when events occur
# pylint: disable=unused-argument, redefined-outer-name
def connected(client, userdata, flags, rc):
    # This function will be called when the client is connected
    # successfully to the broker.
    print("Connected to Adafruit IO!")


def disconnected(client, userdata, rc):
    # This method is called when the client is disconnected
    print("Disconnected from Adafruit IO!")


def subscribe(client, userdata, topic, granted_qos):
    # This method is called when the client subscribes to a new feed.
    print("Subscribed to {0}".format(topic))


def unsubscribe(client, userdata, topic, pid):
    # This method is called when the client unsubscribes from a feed.
    print("Unsubscribed from {0} with PID {1}".format(topic, pid))

def on_message(client, topic, message):
    # Method callled when a client's subscribed feed has a new value.
    print("New message on topic {0}: {1}".format(topic, message))


def on_relay_msg(client, topic, value):
    # Called when relay feed obtains a new value
    print("Turning Relay %s"%value)
    if value == "ON":
        power_pin.value = True
    elif value == "OFF":
        power_pin.value = False
    else:
        print("Unexpected value received on relay feed.")

# Connect to WiFi
print("Connecting to WiFi...")
wifi.connect()
print("Connected!")

MQTT.set_socket(socket, esp)

# Set up a MiniMQTT Client
client = MQTT.MQTT(
    broker="io.adafruit.com",
    username=secrets["aio_username"],
    password=secrets["aio_key"],
)

# Setup the callback methods above
client.on_connect = connected
client.on_disconnect = disconnected
client.on_subscribe = subscribe
client.on_unsubscribe = unsubscribe
client.on_message = on_message
# Add a callback to the relay feed
client.add_topic_callback(feed_relay, on_relay_msg)

# Connect the client to Adafruit IO
print("Connecting to Adafruit IO...")
client.connect()

# Subscribe to all updates on relay feed
client.subscribe(feed_relay)

while True:
    try: # Poll for new messages on feed_relay
        client.loop()
    except (ValueError, RuntimeError, ConnectionError, OSError) as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        client.reconnect()
        continue
    time.sleep(0.05)
View on GitHub

Once all the files are copied from your computer to the PyPortal, you should have the following files on your CIRCUITPY drive:

sensors_lib_relay_portal.png

Secrets File Setup

Open the secrets.py file on your CircuitPython device using Mu or your favorite text editor. You're going to edit this file to enter your WiFi credentials along with your keys. 

  • Change ssid to the name of your WiFi network
  • Change password to your WiFi network's password 
  • Change aio_username to your Adafruit IO Username
  • Change aio_key to your Adafruit IO Key.
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Copy Code 
secrets = {
    'ssid' : 'home ssid',
    'password' : 'my password',
    'timezone' : "America/New_York", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'aio_username' : 'MY_ADAFRUIT_IO_USERNAME',
    'aio_key' : 'MY_ADAFRUIT_IO_KEY',
    }

Test Code

Before wiring everything up, it's important to test the code so it works as-expected.

Open the CircuitPython REPL. The following should output in the REPL:

Download File
Copy Code 
code.py output:
Connecting to WiFi...
Connected!
Connecting to Adafruit IO...
Connected to Adafruit IO!
Subscribed to brubell/feeds/relay

Navigate to the Adafruit IO Dashboard you created earlier and toggle the Power switch.

The REPL should output "Turning Relay ON"

Toggling the power switch to the off position should output "Turning Relay OFF" in the REPL.

Assembly and Wiring

Before reading this page - please make sure you followed the Code PyPortal with CircuitPython page completely and you successfully ran the test at the bottom of the page.

The green screw terminal comes firmly inserted into the relay. With your hands or a spudger, pull the screw terminal out of the relay's case.

This part may require some extra force to pull it out.

Using a flathead screwdriver, unscrew each of the screw terminals.

With the STEMMA male header cable, push the white cable into the left screw terminal. Screw the terminal screw clock-wise to fasten the cable.

Make sure to give it it a very gentle tug to make sure it's securely attached!

Repeat the above steps for the black header cable and the right screw terminal. Ignore the red (power) header cable.

Push the screw terminal back into the relay.

sensors_IMG_3174_2.jpg

Plug the JST PH 3-pin header into the PyPortal's D3 port. 

The PyPortal needs constant power to receive commands from Adafruit IO. The relay has an always ON port which does not get toggled by the PyPortal.

Plug a power adapter (at least 5V 2A) into the relay's always ON port.

sensors_DC05D61F-59B8-4102-BC2B-01AAE501F216_1_105_c.jpeg

Connect the PyPortal to the power adapter's MicroUSB cable.

Connect the power adapter of the appliance to one of the two normally OFF ports on the relay.

sensors_IMG_3263_2.jpg

Code Usage

Turn the relay's power switch on by toggling the red switch on top of the relay.

sensors_20032A8A-26FB-41D4-98E9-40E7BED0C939_1_105_c.jpeg

The PyPortal should boot up. The code connects the PyPortal to your WiFi network. Then, it connects to Adafruit IO and subscribes to the feed you set up earlier.

On a web browser, navigate to the Adafruit IO Dashboard you created earlier. 

Tap (or click) the Power switch to turn your appliance on.

Toggle the power switch again to turn your appliance off.

That's it! You have successfully connected an appliance to the internet using Adafruit IO.

Code Walkthrough

Set up the PyPortal's D3 pin as a DigitalInOut object and set the direction to output. 

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Copy Code 
# Set up a pin for controlling the relay
power_pin = DigitalInOut(board.D3)
power_pin.switch_to_output()

Now, set up the relay feed as a string variable named feed_relay

Download File
Copy Code 
### Feeds ###
# Set up a feed named Relay for subscribing to the relay feed on Adafruit IO
feed_relay = secrets["aio_username"] + "/feeds/relay"

The following code snippet consists of MQTT callback methods. For an explanation of how these methods function, please see this section of the MQTT in CircuitPython guide.

Download File
Copy Code 
### Code ###

# Define callback methods which are called when events occur
# pylint: disable=unused-argument, redefined-outer-name
def connected(client, userdata, flags, rc):
    # This function will be called when the client is connected
    # successfully to the broker.
    print("Connected to Adafruit IO!")

def disconnected(client, userdata, rc):
    # This method is called when the client is disconnected
    print("Disconnected from Adafruit IO!")

def subscribe(client, userdata, topic, granted_qos):
    # This method is called when the client subscribes to a new feed.
    print("Subscribed to {0}".format(topic))

def unsubscribe(client, userdata, topic, pid):
    # This method is called when the client unsubscribes from a feed.
    print("Unsubscribed from {0} with PID {1}".format(topic, pid))

def on_message(client, topic, message):
    # Method callled when a client's subscribed feed has a new value.
    print("New message on topic {0}: {1}".format(topic, message))

When the Adafruit IO feed Your-AIO-Username/feeds/relay receives new data, the following method executes and evaluates the value on the feed.

If the value is "ON", the relay is turned on by setting the pin high. If the value is "OFF", the relay is turned off by setting the pin low. 

Download File
Copy Code 
def on_relay_msg(client, topic, value):
    # Called when relay feed obtains a new value
    print("Turning Relay %s"%value)
    if value == "ON":
        power_pin.value = True
    elif value == "OFF":
        power_pin.value = False
    else:
        print("Unexpected value received on relay feed.")

Next, connect to the WiFi network and set up a MQTT client to connect to Adafruit IO's MQTT broker with your credentials.

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Copy Code 
MQTT.set_socket(socket, esp)

# Set up a MiniMQTT Client
client = MQTT.MQTT(
    broker="io.adafruit.com",
    username=secrets["aio_username"],
    password=secrets["aio_key"],
)

Now, set up the callback methods above by connecting them to the client's default callback properties. 

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Copy Code 
# Setup the callback methods above
client.on_connect = connected
client.on_disconnect = disconnected
client.on_subscribe = subscribe
client.on_unsubscribe = unsubscribe
client.on_message = on_message

The on_relay_message method is not a default MiniMQTT client callback, so it's added as a custom callback, which will execute on_relay_msg() when new data is received.

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Copy Code 
# Add a callback to the relay feed
client.add_topic_callback(feed_relay, on_relay_msg)

Connect to the Adafruit IO MQTT broker and subscribe to the relay feed.

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Copy Code 
# Connect the client to Adafruit IO
print("Connecting to Adafruit IO...")
client.connect()

# Subscribe to all updates on relay feed
client.subscribe(feed_relay)

The code within the while True loop will check for new messages on the relay feed every 50 milliseconds. If there's an issue with the network connection, the WiFi connection will reset and the MQTT client will reconnect to Adafruit IO.

Download File
Copy Code 
while True:
    try: # Poll for new messages on feed_relay
        client.loop()
    except (ValueError, RuntimeError) as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        client.reconnect()
        continue
    time.sleep(0.05)

Going Further: Add a Feedback Indicator

If you experience a power or network outage - your Dashboard's power toggle may not be accurate.

While the PyPortal will re-connect to the network, Adafruit IO toggling the button may not actually be turning the appliance on or off. You will need to add some way of measuring feedback (such as the power status) from the appliance.

A simple way of adding a feedback mechanism is by placing a light sensor over the appliance's power indicator LED to detect if the appliance is actually turned on or off. 

Plug a BH1750, a small inexpensive light sensor, into your PyPortal to measure the light value from the appliance's power indicator LED. Then, create a new Adafruit IO Feed to hold the light sensor's value.

Add some new code to the PyPortal to measure the light sensor's value at a predefined interval, evaluate if the appliance is turned on or off, and send the status back to Adafruit IO. 

To wrap it all up, you'll add an Indicator Block to your Adafruit IO Dashboard to display the appliance's actual power status.

Parts

We'll need two additional parts to complete this section

Adafruit BH1750 Light Sensor with STEMMA QT / Qwiic
This is the BH1750 16-bit Ambient Light Sensor from Rohm. Because of how important it is to humans and most other living things, sensing the amount of light in an...
$4.50
In Stock
Add to Cart

You'll also need a JST PH to JST SH cable to connect the BH1750 sensor to the PyPortal's I2C port.

Angled shot of 4-pin JST PH to JST SH Cable.
Are you a maker in the midst of a STEMMA dilemma? This 200mm long 4-wire...
$0.95
In Stock
Add to Cart

Add Feed

You will need a feed to hold the sensor's value. Navigate to your Adafruit IO Feeds page and click Actions -> Create New Feed. Name the feed status and click create.

sensors_IO_-_Feeds.png

Add Block to Dashboard

Navigate to the dashboard you created earlier. Click Create New Block (+ icon).

Select the indicator block

Select the feed you just created, status

Click Create Block

Your dashboard should look like the screenshot below:

sensors_IO_-_Air_Conditioner.png

Wiring

Plug the BH1750 Light Sensor into the Stemma JST PH connector. 

Then, plug the JST SH connector into the I2C port on your PyPortal.

Locate the Power LED on your appliance and attach the light sensor above the power LED using tape.

We suggest using black tape, such as gaffer's tape to avoid light leakage.

CircuitPython Installation of BH1750 Library

You'll need to install the Adafruit CircuitPython BH1750 library on your CircuitPython board.

First make sure you are running the latest version of Adafruit CircuitPython for your board.

Next you'll need to install the necessary libraries to use the hardware--carefully follow the steps to find and install these libraries from Adafruit's CircuitPython library bundle.  Our CircuitPython starter guide has a great page on how to install the library bundle.

Before continuing make sure your board's lib folder or root filesystem has the adafruit_bh1750.mpy file and adafruit_bus_device folder copied over.

CircuitPython Code

Copy code_light_sensor.py to your PyPortal's CIRCUITPY drive and rename the file to code.py.

Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 Brent Rubell for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import neopixel
import adafruit_bh1750
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket

import adafruit_minimqtt.adafruit_minimqtt as MQTT

### Sensor Calibration ###
# Appliance power LED's light level, in Lux
APPLIANCE_ON_LUX = 30.0
# How often the light sensor will be read, in seconds
SENSOR_READ_TIME = 10.0

### WiFi ###

# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
"""Use below for Most Boards"""
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(
    board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2
)  # Uncomment for Most Boards
"""Uncomment below for ItsyBitsy M4"""
# status_light = dotstar.DotStar(board.APA102_SCK, board.APA102_MOSI, 1, brightness=0.2)
# Uncomment below for an externally defined RGB LED
# import adafruit_rgbled
# from adafruit_esp32spi import PWMOut
# RED_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 26)
# GREEN_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 27)
# BLUE_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 25)
# status_light = adafruit_rgbled.RGBLED(RED_LED, BLUE_LED, GREEN_LED)
wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

# Set up a pin for controlling the relay
power_pin = DigitalInOut(board.D3)
power_pin.switch_to_output()

# Set up the light sensor
i2c = board.I2C()  # uses board.SCL and board.SDA
# i2c = board.STEMMA_I2C()  # For using the built-in STEMMA QT connector on a microcontroller
sensor = adafruit_bh1750.BH1750(i2c)

### Feeds ###
# Set up a feed named Relay for subscribing to the relay feed on Adafruit IO
feed_relay = secrets["aio_username"] + "/feeds/relay"

# Set up a feed named status for subscribing to the status feed on Adafruit IO
feed_status = secrets["aio_username"] + "/feeds/status"

### Code ###

# Define callback methods which are called when events occur
# pylint: disable=unused-argument, redefined-outer-name
def connected(client, userdata, flags, rc):
    # This function will be called when the client is connected
    # successfully to the broker.
    print("Connected to Adafruit IO!")


def disconnected(client, userdata, rc):
    # This method is called when the client is disconnected
    print("Disconnected from Adafruit IO!")


def subscribe(client, userdata, topic, granted_qos):
    # This method is called when the client subscribes to a new feed.
    print("Subscribed to {0}".format(topic))


def unsubscribe(client, userdata, topic, pid):
    # This method is called when the client unsubscribes from a feed.
    print("Unsubscribed from {0} with PID {1}".format(topic, pid))

def on_message(client, topic, message):
    # Method callled when a client's subscribed feed has a new value.
    print("New message on topic {0}: {1}".format(topic, message))


def on_relay_msg(client, topic, value):
    # Called when relay feed obtains a new value
    print("Turning Relay %s"%value)
    if value == "ON":
        power_pin.value = True
    elif value == "OFF":
        power_pin.value = False
    else:
        print("Unexpected value received on relay feed.")

# Connect to WiFi
print("Connecting to WiFi...")
wifi.connect()
print("Connected!")

MQTT.set_socket(socket, esp)

# Set up a MiniMQTT Client
client = MQTT.MQTT(
    broker="io.adafruit.com",
    username=secrets["aio_username"],
    password=secrets["aio_key"],
)

# Setup the callback methods above
client.on_connect = connected
client.on_disconnect = disconnected
client.on_subscribe = subscribe
client.on_unsubscribe = unsubscribe
client.on_message = on_message
# Add a callback to the relay feed
client.add_topic_callback(feed_relay, on_relay_msg)

# Connect the client to Adafruit IO
print("Connecting to Adafruit IO...")
client.connect()

# Subscribe to all updates on relay feed
client.subscribe(feed_relay)

# Holds previous state of light sensor
prv_sensor_value = 0
# Time in seconds since start
start_time = time.monotonic()

while True:
    try:
        # Poll for new messages on feed_relay
        client.loop()
        now = time.monotonic()
        if now - start_time > SENSOR_READ_TIME:
            # Read light sensor
            print("Reading light sensor")
            sensor_value = sensor.lux
            print("%.2f Lux" % sensor.lux)
            if sensor_value != prv_sensor_value:
                # Light sensor value changed between readings
                if sensor_value > APPLIANCE_ON_LUX:
                    # Appliance is ON, publish to feed_status
                    print("Appliance ON, publishing to IO...")
                    client.publish(feed_status, 1)
                    print("Published!")
                else:
                    # Appliance is OFF, publish to feed_status
                    print("Appliance OFF, publishing to IO...")
                    client.publish(feed_status, 2)
                    print("Published!")
                prv_sensor_value = sensor_value
            start_time = now
    except (ValueError, RuntimeError, ConnectionError, OSError) as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        client.reconnect()
        continue
    time.sleep(0.5)
View on GitHub

Code Usage

Connect up your PyPortal's STEMMA cables and turn on the relay outlet. Once the PyPortal is connected to the internet, navigate to the Adafruit IO Dashboard and tap the toggle switch block to turn the appliance on.

The appliance should turn on and the indicator block should light up green, indicating it is turned on.

Toggling the switch to the off position should turn the appliance off and the indicator block should turn red.

Light Sensor Calibration

We wrote this guide for a LG Air Conditioner. Other appliances use different LEDs which provide different illuminance measurements. If the status indicator block is not responding, you may need to calibrate the light sensor for your appliance.

In the embedded code element below, click on the Download: Project Zip link, and save the .zip archive file to your computer.

Then, uncompress the .zip file, it will unpack to a folder named bh1750_simpletest.

Copy bh1750_simpletest.py to your PyPortal's CIRCUITPY drive and rename the file to code.py.

Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 Bryan Siepert, written for Adafruit Industries

# SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense
import time
import board
import adafruit_bh1750

i2c = board.I2C()  # uses board.SCL and board.SDA
# i2c = board.STEMMA_I2C()  # For using the built-in STEMMA QT connector on a microcontroller
sensor = adafruit_bh1750.BH1750(i2c)

while True:
    print("%.2f Lux" % sensor.lux)
    time.sleep(1)
View on GitHub

Connect your PyPortal to power. With the light sensor placed over the light source, turn the PyPortal on. Turn the appliance on. The display will show the ambient light level in lux, the SI derived unit for measuring illuminance.

Write this value down. You may wish to average some of the readings together.

In the code_light_sensor.py, modify the line APPLIANCE_ON_LUX = 30.0 to the light value you recorded.

This guide was first published on Sep 22, 2020. It was last updated on Sep 22, 2020.